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25 Mar 2010 : Column 518W—continued
We take the safety of those in our care very seriously, and operate a system called Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (ACDT) to identify and help those who are at risk of suicide or self harm. Notices in various languages are displayed around Centres setting out that, where there is a concern about a fellow detainee, this should be brought to the attention of a member of staff.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hunger strikes were recorded at each immigration removal centre in the UK in each of the last six years; and how many of them involved (a) male parents detained with their children, (b) female parents detained with their children, (c) children aged under 18 years old and (d) children aged under 10 years old. [321101]
Mr. Woolas: There has been inaccurate reporting in the media of a hunger strike at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre. While a small number of detainees were refusing formal meals from the canteen, we are aware that they have accessed food from the centre's shop, vending machines and social visitors. They were all also drinking.
We only record information on detainees who have missed four consecutive meals, excluding breakfast. Such detainees miss meals for a number of reasons, including fasting due to their religious faith. We do not record the number who state they are refusing food in protest at a particular issue.
All those who miss meals are monitored closely by the centre, including health care, where they will receive advice on diet and welfare issues.
The UK Border Agency and the Centre management engage closely with such detainees to understand the reason for them missing meals and to seek to resolve any underlying problems.
Entry Clearances: Kosovo
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Kosovan citizens of Serb extraction may enter the UK using passports issued in Belgrade. [323643]
Mr. Woolas: Since 2008, passports issued by the competent Kosovan authorities have been accepted for travel to the United Kingdom (UK). These documents are generally issued by the Kosovan authorities in Pristina. Serbian passports, which are issued by the competent Serbian authorities, are also accepted for travel to the UK.
Both Serbian and Kosovan nationals require visas before travelling to the UK and are subject to immigration control on arrival.
The UK Border Agency is unable to comment on whether Kosovan citizens of Serbian extraction would qualify for a Serbian national passport. This would be a matter for the Serbian authorities.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect on numbers of English language schools of recent changes to the Tier 4 points-based immigration system. [321823]
Mr. Woolas: These changes came into force on 3 March and we continually monitor Tier 4 to ensure its effectiveness. Our policies are carefully balanced to protect the integrity of the UK's immigration system while safeguarding the ability for genuine international students who wish to study here.
Identity Cards
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) his Department and (b) the Identity and Passport Service has had discussions with (i) the Local Government Association, (ii) London councils, (iii) passenger transport executives and (iv) local authorities on the use of identity cards to help administer the concessionary bus fare scheme. [323808]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 23 March 2010]: There have been no such discussions. However, identity cards and the National Identity Register should provide a number of opportunities to deliver public services more efficiently and effectively in the future.
Identity Cards: Fees and Charges
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Identity and Passport Service had collected in fees from people issued with identity cards on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [323936]
Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has collected approximately £115,000 in identity card fees to the end of February 2010.
The IPS Annual Report and Accounts for 2009-10 will include audited disclosure of operational identity card income and expenditure.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the cost to applicants of the new model of identity card due to be issued in 2012; and if he will make a statement. [323937]
Meg Hillier: From 2012, the Identity and Passport Service will extend the rollout of identity cards across the United Kingdom, alongside the introduction of second generation biometric passports, but there are no formal plans to introduce a new model of identity card.
The fee for an identity card is £30 in 2009 and 2010, as set out in the March 2008 National Identity Scheme Delivery Plan. The level of fees that will apply in the future has not been finalised and will depend on the future fee strategy for passports and identity cards.
Immigration
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the mechanisms by which his Department considers immigration applications from adults who arrived in the UK as children for the purposes of ensuring consistency in his Department's decisions on whether to grant leave to remain in such cases; and if he will make a statement. [317380]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 22 February 2010]: There is a range of categories under which a child may arrive in the United Kingdom and who may stay into adulthood. The specific criteria and application consideration will vary for each respective category and it is therefore not possible to be consistent across the board.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications held by the Legacy caseworking team at the UK Border Agency were awaiting allocation to a caseworker on the latest date for which figures are available. [322350]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 15 March 2010]: No cases are currently awaiting allocation to a case owner. On 17 December 2007 every Case Resolution Directorate (CRD) case was allocated to a case owner.
Immigration: Detainees
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees held at immigration removal centres have required (a) medical treatment and (b) hospital treatment in each of the last two years. [323503]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 22 March 2010]: The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be provided only by examination of individual records which would be at disproportionate cost.
However, each immigration removal centre provides on-site medical care 24 hours a day. All detainees are seen by a nurse for a health screening within two hours of arrival at a centre and are given an appointment to see the GP within 24 hours. GPs see detainees earlier if
required. Thereafter, they access health care on demand, subject to a triage service similar to that found in GP surgeries in the community.
Secondary treatment is provided by the local primary care trust by way of a referral from healthcare.
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times police have been called to each UK Border Agency immigration removal centre in each of the last two years. [323505]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 22 March 2010]: The data requested are not recorded at immigration removal centres and could be provided by the UK Border Agency by only examination of individual security records at each centre at disproportionate cost.
The police might be called for a variety of different reasons, including where an offence may have been committed such as an attempt to import drugs into a centre, or to assist with managing disturbances.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter of 14 December 2009 from the hon. Member for Aylesbury on behalf of Mr. R. V. of Aylesbury, acknowledged by his Department on 21 December 2009. [322933]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 18 March 2010]: The reply letter was sent out on 18 March 2010.
Ministers' Private Offices
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure his private office incurred on (a) entertainment, (b) travel and (c) overnight subsistence in each of the last five years. [317766]
Alan Johnson: The expenditure incurred on entertainment, travel and overnight subsistence in Private Office for the last two financial years is as follows. Information relating to years before this is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Entertainment: £2,719
Travel: £111,269
Overnight subsistence: £5,192
Entertainment: £727
Travel: £46,260
Overnight subsistence: £13,570
The term 'entertainment' encompasses working lunches, tea and coffees and sandwiches for all meetings attended by outside stakeholders.
National Identity Register
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether local authorities will have access to the National Identity Register for the purposes of the administration of free bus travel for those aged 60 years and over. [323809]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 23 March 2010]: Information cannot be provided to a local authority from the national identity register without further secondary legislation and there are no current plans to do so for the administration of concessionary bus passes. However, an individual may choose to show an identity card to a local authority or to anyone else to help verify their identity, including age.
Police: Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department allocated for the (a) recruitment and (b) training of police officers in each year since 1997. [317611]
Alan Johnson: The Home Office does not allocate specific grants for recruitment of police officers and since 2008-09 the former specific grant for the Initial Police Learning Development Programme has been absorbed into the main police grant at the level prevailing in 2007-08 of £16.2 million. Expenditure on recruitment and training is a matter for each individual police force.
Centrex prior to its abolition, and since 1 April 2007, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), through National Assessment Centres has managed the recruitment of police officers funded from its overall grant in aid from the Home Office.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department has allocated to Devon and Cornwall police for 2009-10 (a) in total and (b) per head of population. [323672]
Mr. Hanson: The information is as follows:
(a) The information available can be found in the following table:
| Devon and Cornwall police authority funding | |
| £ million | |
| Note: This figure comprises the Home Office Police Grant and certain Specific Grants and Capital Provision, and also the Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates (both provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government). | |
(b) The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities on a per capita basis. The police funding formula used includes data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the needs of each police authority. Police grants allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Welsh Assembly Government also take into account the relative tax base of each police authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department has allocated to police authorities in England for 2009-10 (a) in total and (b) per head of population. [323673]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The information available can be found in the following table.
| England police funding | |
| £ billion | |
| Note: This figure comprises the Home Office Police Grant and certain Specific Grants and Capital Provision, and also the Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates (both provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government). | |
(b) The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities on a per capita basis. The police funding formula used includes data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the needs of each police authority. Police grants allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Welsh Assembly Government also take into account the relative tax base of each police authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department allocated to Devon and Cornwall police for 1995-96 (a) in total and (b) per head of population. [323674]
Mr. Hanson: The information is as follows:
(a) The information available can be found in the following table.
| Devon and Cornwall police authority funding | |
| £ million | |
| Note: This figure comprises the Home Office Police Grant and certain Specific Grants and Capital Provision, and also the Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates (both provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government). | |
(b) The Government do not distribute grant to police authorities on a per capita basis. The police funding formula used includes data relating to demographic and social characteristics to reflect the needs of each police authority. Police grants allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Welsh Assembly Government also take into account the relative tax base of each police authority. Grant allocations are stabilised by damping to limit year-on-year variations.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department allocated to police authorities in England for 1995-96 (a) in total and (b) per head of population. [323675]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The information available can be found in the following table.
| England : police funding | |
| £ billion | |
| Note: This figure comprises the Home Office Police grant and certain specific grants and capital provision, and also the Revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates (both provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government). | |
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